Get the scoop from the 2015 Phillies Ballgirls as they share their experiences

Slumps and superstitions and stats…oh my!

Not that we need it, and not that we are in a slump, or a rut, or a rough patch, but rather just in case, the ballgirls wanted to offer some help to our hometown team. We are tapping you into our pre-game secrets. These are some of the things that help us when we need some good luck. The Phillies are free to use it, or ignore it, but either way we wanted to send some homeruns, RBIs and general good luck to the Phillies as they return home for a bunch of games.

Sidenote: I did ask the girls to send this blog in a couple days ago, and since the Phils have returned, they’ve really changed their outlook. Maybe it was just nice to get back home and hear the roar of the fans in Citizens Bank Park, maybe they just wanted to play on their home turf, but either way, it is great to see those bats going again. Let’s keep it up boys!

Here are some suggestions from the ballgirls for good luck charms… in case we ever need it again! […please no!…]

Amanda: The best thing for any athlete when in a slump is to always stay POSITIVE!! Anytime I was having a bad game, practice, etc…I always kept my head up and pushed through. The mental aspect of the game is huge so getting frustrated only makes it worse. The Phillies good luck charm is Citizens Bank park…this home stand will be just what the boys need– their Philly Phans!

Tori: I think it’s only natural that players/teams get into ruts. It was inevitable that I would getin a batting rut every season and as frustrating as it was I had little things I would do to help me. For away games I would do whatever I could to relax on the bus, which usually meant listening to music. I also had a particular white ribbon that I would always wear in my hair, the first time I wore it I hit my first home run. As soon as I would get out of my rut and start hitting I wouldn’t wash my socks, I know, I know kind of gross but every player has there own little things. Once I felt comfortable and was back in the swing of things I would wash them again. My other good look charm is my faith necklace, I wore it for every game under my jersey the entire time I played in college.

Kristina: I am a very superstitious person and when I wasn’t performing my best I always looked to my routine that I did before a game and changed it up until I had success. At one point in college I ate tuna fish sandwiches every day before a game and I wouldn’t change it because I was on a hitting streak. Another thing I would do is wear the same socks (obviously I would wash them) but even if the socks had holes I would continually wear them until my luck changed.

Bonnie: I had several rituals on game days that I could not skip. First off, my best friend would pick me up for school, and we had our select game day songs that would play on our way to school. I also was pretty serious about my diet on game days…no sweets, no soda, no junk. We even had our traditional team pranks in the locker room that got us all pumped up before going out to play. I definitely felt that these rituals would make or break the game for my team, so I couldn’t miss any of them.

McKenzie: I’m probably one of the few girls that will have this answer.. but I never really had a ritual that I followed before every game. I didn’t play competitively in college, only in high school, so I think I was always too busy or doing something else involving school before all of my games to really ever develop a ritual. I guess the closest I’ve come to having one now before being on the field for Phillies games is being neurotic about checking my bag to make sure I have everything. I ALWAYS open it before I leave the house, once I’m in the car, and before I leave work for the game if it’s during the week. Maybe I should develop some quirky ritual just so I can say I have one….

Lindsay: I always listened to music on my iPod before every game. Whether it was an away or home game I had multiple playlists and my whole team in college pretty much did the same. I had a friend who would listen and sing to Hanson before every game (and there is a current ballgirl who probably did the same)… but I was more into dance and rock songs before games. Most memorable was in 2004 when my team played for the National Championship, a teammate and I used to sing “We are the Champions” throughout the whole season before games, but someone got us on video for that game… pretty embarrassing. I’d suggest the Phillies rockout in the locker room before the game, it worked for me!

Bridgette: Whenever I seem to be in a slump when it comes to sports, I try to make note of specific differences in the details from when I was winning compared to when the slump began. For example, this year while playing intramural softball at school I noticed that when I wore a certain white long sleeve shirt underneath my jersey my team would do well, and that one week when I switched it up and wore a gray long sleeve underneath instead, we lost. When I made the change back to white, it just so happened that we won the remainder of our games in the season. I also take note of the color head band and hair tie I’m wearing when my team wins, and make sure to wear the same color during the next game. It’s all about the little details!

Fehran: In high school I used to eat Taco Bell before every game. I’d have a Mexican Pizza with no tomatoes and a Sprite with no ice. It gave me super powers.

Patti: Although I can’t say I had too many bad games/weeks/seasons, ;) I can say I definitely had some pre-game routines that helped me keep my focus and get mentally prepared to play. Before each game at school we would wear our uniforms, I didn’t particularly like this trend so I would make a T-shirt resembling a jersey and people would sign it throughout the day. It was great to get people excited about our game and the (mostly) inspiring words really got me pumped to play…Maybe its time our Phils started asking some fans for autographs! And of course right before each game I always listened to some great pump up songs to get me in the right mind frame and excited to play! (see walk up songs blog)

Perrin: I don’t really have any pregame rituals (see Lebron James chalk toss), nor do I regularly hold any good luck charms (see Sanka’s lucky egg in “Cool Runnings”). In college, I would routinely listen to some type of pump-up mix on my ipod before a race to get the adrenaline going. One of my personal favorites is Dropkick Murphy’s “Shipping Up to Boston” which always gets me pumped up.

And since we missed posting on Sunday, here are some other info you might be curious about….

1) Ballgirl winning percentage stats are now available!!! Well another month ends and a new one begins, but that means it is time to check the Ballgirl Stats! This month we had Lindsay dethroned by Perrin for the Vets and Bridgette for the Rookies in the category of highest winning percentage. McKenzie wins in the category of runs scored for the Vets by a landslide at 52! Bridgette is also leading the Rookies with 9 runs scored. Keep looking and cheering for your favorite ballgirls on the field each night! Katie showed some significant improvement this month stating she was making “slow, but steady steps” toward a better percentage. Let’s see how we do in June, Go Phils!

2) All-Star Voting is still taking place! Vote up to 25 times per email address. www.phillies.com

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